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Saturday, 13 December 2014

If losing pounds is as easy as journalling about what you put
in your mouth, can you use the same technique to help you stick to a fitness
routine?

Dieters who keep a food diary lose twice as much weight as
those who kept no records, according to a recent study by Kaiser Permanente’s
Centre for Health Research. But while keeping a journal holds you more
accountable for how you treat your body, sticking to a fitness routine is
different from sticking to a healthy
eating routine. Personal trainers we talked to recommend these tactics
to keep you motivated and inspired to work out.

1. Change Your Perspective

Shift your thinking from couch potato mentality to thinking
like an athlete. This may sound like a big challenge, but it’s not as big a
leap as you think. Essex, Massachusetts mother April Bowling, 33, stopped using
her busy life as an excuse not to exercise. After the birth of her children
(now ages 5 and 3), Bowling started viewing exercise as a way to set a strong
example for her kids.

Bowling started thinking about her workouts at odd hours as
a blessing rather than a sacrifice. She also found inspiration in
others, looking outward for extra motivation. “Take inspiration from everyone
you meet."

2. Set a Goal

There’s nothing more motivating, sometimes even scary, than that first 5K looming in bold letters on the calendar. Register early and
commit to an exercise program that will get you in shape by race day.

“Set realistic goals that include clear milestones, and as
you progress toward your goal, you’ll find a ripple effect occurs and things
fall into place in your work, home life and health,” says Stacy Fowler, a
Denver-based personal trainer and life
coach.

The goal doesn't even have to be an organized race. Maybe
it’s a mission to fit into that bikini by the annual beach vacation or
that old pair of jeans buried in your closet. Whatever it is is, define it,
write it down and revisit it daily.

Make sure it’s realistic and you can actually adapt your life around meeting the goal, says Philip
Haberstro, executive director of the National Association for Health and
Fitness in Buffalo, N.Y.

3. Schedule a Regular Workout Time

Some of the most committed exercisers do it every day before
the sun comes up or late at night when the kids are in bed. Sit down with your
weekly schedule and try to build in an hour each day to be good to your body.

Tamira Cole, 24, a graduate student in Clarksville,Tenn.,
was motivated to exercise regularly by the energy boost it brought to her day.
“It’s easy to stay in bed. But you have to set an alarm and take the extra
initiative,” she says. “Then you’ll find you have more energy and can be more
efficient throughout the day.”

If you convince yourself you’ll fit in a workout some time
after that last meeting, once the kids go down for a nap or when your spouse
arrives home on time, failure is certain. Chances are a last-minute invitation
will come along; weather will foil a bike ride; or the kids won’t nap. Write
your workout on your calendar, set up daycare, and rearrange things around this
one hour as if were any other important appointment you have to keep.

4. Think Fun and Variety

By nature, humans need change and variety to stay motivated. We also need to
have fun, even while we’re working hard.

Whether it’s a toning and sculpting class that changes
choreography every week or a trail run that changes scenery every season,
design your exercise routine around a variety of exercise methods. Make sure you include
activities you truly enjoy and look forward to doing. Think movement that's
more like recreation and makes you forget you're working out, like dancing, hula hooping or playing sports with family and
friends.

Workout variety also challenges your body in unique ways,
which may introduce you to new muscle groups you didn't even know you had!

5. Reach Out to Others for Support

In America, some tend to have trouble asking for help, says
Bowling. Yet in order to stick to a fitness program, we need buy-in and
encouragement from other people.

“Exercising is built into our family life," Bowling
adds. “We view it as a necessity. Sometimes it takes the place of watching TV
together.”

For others, it’s finding a friend with a shared zest for
running, and planning scheduled workouts together. It’s easy to hit the snooze
button when it’s just you, but much harder to leave a friend waiting at the
track.

Consider joining a social networking site or on-line
community with fitness trainers and nutrition experts, and support from other
people trying to lose weight and maintain healthy eating and exercise routines.
People who get this kind of on-line support are proven to lose three times more
weight than people going it alone.

So start thinking of yourself as an athlete, and not a
spectator. Set a goal, enlist a friend, mark it on your calendar and have some
fun. You’ll be setting yourself up for a lifetime of better health, more
happiness, and more energy for everything else in your life.